Pit bulls have a vicious reputation. Are the dogs or bad owners to blame?
How dangerous are pit bulls?
Despite making up 6 percent of the U.S. dog population, pit bulls are responsible for 22.5 percent of dog attacks—more than any other breed—according to a 2019 study that examined five decades of research. And of the 521 Americans killed by dogs from 2015 to 2019, 66 percent were attacked by pit bulls, reports the nonprofit victims’ group DogsBite.org. Two fatal attacks occurred last week. A 1-year-old in Texas was mauled to death by his babysitter’s three pit bulls, with a sheriff saying the animals played a minutes-long “tug-of-war” with the boy’s bloodied body. Days later, a pack of 10 pit bull mixes killed a 59-year-old man in a backyard in Albany, N.Y., only stopping when a police officer shot dead one of the dogs. Pit bull owners say such incidents are largely the result of bad owners. “Pit bull-type dogs are innately no more likely to bite or attack humans,” said Sara Ondrako, founder of the American Pit Bull Foundation. If they are mistreated, then that can “lead to serious problems.” But Colleen Lynn, president of DogsBite.org, argues that these stocky animals—which can weigh from 30 to 90 pounds—are a risk to people because they have been “specifically bred with incredible aggression and fight.”
What were pit bulls originally bred to do?
Fight other dogs. Modern pit bulls, a loose grouping that includes the Staffordshire bull terrier and the American pit bull terrier, descend from the old English bulldogs used in bear- and bull-baiting. In those blood sports, dogs would try to subdue the larger animal by biting its snout and dragging it to the ground. When those sports were outlawed in Britain in the early 1800s, breeders mixed their bulldogs with terriers to create a more agile canine better suited for dog fighting. Experts say that fighting heritage can still be seen in pit bulls today, in their large, strong jaws, muscular neck and shoulders, and behavior. The animals seem to have a high threshold for pain, often don’t growl or give a warning that they’re about to strike, and have a stubborn “hold and shake” bite style that can shred tissue and break bones. A 2020 study that looked at 182 people admitted to trauma centers with dog bite injuries to the face found that, compared with other breeds, “pit bull terriers inflicted more complex wounds” and that their attacks “were often unprovoked.” Pit bull advocates argue that research in fact shows the dogs are unfairly maligned.
What evidence do they cite?
They point to studies conducted by the American Temperament Test Society, which has put tens of thousands of dogs through drills to assess their aggressiveness, stability, and friendliness around people. About 88 percent of American pit bull terriers put through the test have passed, a higher share than for bearded collies, beagles, and Dalmatians. Some canine experts also cast doubt on pit bull data, because DNA studies indicate that bullmastiffs, boxers, and other breeds that have pit bull-like muscular bodies, square heads, and short ears are often mistaken for the animals. Still, what is accepted is that pit bulls are often bred for musculature and that their fierce reputation means they are more likely to be bred and owned by people who will encourage aggressiveness. “They want to ‘pack heat’ via their dog, so to speak,” said animal behaviorist Nicholas Dodman. The dogs had a very different reputation a century ago.
How were they viewed back then?
In the late-19th and early-20th centuries, pit bull-type dogs were regarded as loving, all-American family pets. Helen Keller, Mark Twain, and President Theodore Roosevelt all owned one, and the animals were especially popular among the working class. The sturdy, loyal dogs were seen as a “symbol of pure tenacity and American fortitude and individualism,” said Bronwen Dickey, author of Pit Bull: The Battle Over an American Icon. But in the 1970s and ’80s, pit bulls lost their family-friendly image and came to be seen, as Time put it, as “time bombs on legs.”
What changed?
A surge in urban crime led to a boom in “very fly-by-night” businesses selling “unstable” pit bulls as guard dogs, said Dickey. Reports of dog bites spiked in big cities. Meanwhile, dog fighting grew in both popularity and brutality, with owners using steroids, amphetamines, and cattle prods to heighten aggression. A humane campaign led the blood sport to be banned in all 50 states by 1976, and attention then turned to the threat posed by the fighting dogs. In 1980, the city of Hollywood, Fla., issued the nation’s first pit bull ban after a dog tore the face of a 7-year-old boy. Hundreds more breed-specific laws followed. It’s not clear whether they are effective. Some unscrupulous dog owners get around bans by switching to more-powerful breeds. In 2020, Denver scrapped its three-decade-old pit bull ban, which a study found had delivered negligible improvements in public safety but cost $100 million to enforce. Yet in the first year after the ban was nixed, city data showed that pit bulls were responsible for more bites on people (117) than any other breed.
What could be done to curb attacks?
Some animal rights groups, including PETA, say all pit bulls should be spayed and neutered to curb the breed’s population. Others want more education for people who buy or adopt a pit bull—emphasizing the need to never leave children unsupervised with the animal, for example—and for authorities to crack down on negligent owners. But pediatric plastic surgeon Michael Golinko, who has operated on numerous children attacked by pit bulls, believes that phasing out the dogs through bans is the best policy. “I’d much rather be on that side of the argument,” he said, “advocating for a child’s safety than for the right to own a pretty dangerous animal.”
An XL threat
After Britain banned pit bulls in 1991 following a string of gruesome attacks, breeders found a loophole. They argued that the even bigger American XL bully—a mix of pit bull, American bulldog, and other breeds—was exempt from the restriction. The animals, which can grow to 130 pounds, make “an excellent family dog,” according to the U.S. United Kennel Club. But fatal dog attacks spiked after their introduction in the U.K., from about five a year to 16 in 2023. That same year, XL bullies were responsible for 44 percent of dog attacks, despite accounting for barely 1 percent of dogs. The British government banned the breed last December; all existing owners need an exemption for their dogs, which must also be muzzled and neutered. It came too late for Emma Whitfield, whose 10-year-old son, Jack, was mauled to death by a 100-pound XL bully in 2021. “We’re missing a massive piece of our family,” she said.